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56th Congress, ) SENATE. \ Document 

U Session. \ \ No. 207. 



. - 

THE ESTABLISHMENT AND GOVERNMENT 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 



/ 

WILLIAM TINDALL 

• * 

SECRETARY TO THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1901. 



J-f 






PREFACE. 



This pamphlet is designed as a chronological outline of the principal 
steps in the establishment of the seat of government of the United 
States, and of the several forms of government which have been pro- 
vided for the management of the local affairs therein, with a brief 
account of the leading features of the present local government and 
courts. It has been compiled as a convenient means of answering 
frequent inquiries for such information. 

1901. William Tixdall. 

3 



ESTABLISHMENT AND GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF 

COLUMBIA. 



The District of Columbia is the seat of government of the United 
States -of America. 



B 



LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY. 



[t is situated on the left or eastern bank of the Potomac River. 108 
miles from its entrance into Chesapeake Bay and about 1S5 miles, 
via said river and bay. from the Atlantic Ocean. The center of the 
District, as originally established, was in longitude 77 : 02' 27.745" 
west of Greenwich, and in north latitude 38° 53' 34.915". and in the 
vicinity of Seventeenth and C streets northwest, in the city of Wash- 
ington. That locality is now nearly on the southwestern border of 
the District, in consequence of the retrocession to Virginia of the por- 
tion of the District derived from that State, but it is still approxi- 
mately midway between the eastern and western extrer 

TheJMstrict consists topographically of an urban section named "the 
city of Washington" and of a suburban and agricultu ! - i ion which 
contains a number of unincorporated villages. It embraces an area of 
69.245 square miles, 60.01 square miles of which are land. Its <iu 
is generally irregular and undulating, rising from the level of i 
low tide in the contiguous Potomac River to an elevation of -± 20 feel 
at the highest point, which is about a half mile southeastwar 
its northwestern boundary. 

The main branch of the Potomac River borders the District on the 
west, beginning at its northwestern boundary, and. after a com - 
approximately southeast and south, leaves it at its southern extremity. 
It is joined from the east about 3 miles north of the latter point by the 
Anacostia River, or Eastern Branch, which flows through the District 
in a southwesterly course to that point. The District is also drained 
by a number of smaller streams which flow into the Potomac and 
Anacostia. 

The navigation of the Potomac for large vessels practically termi- 
nates at the Aqueduct Bridge, about 3 miles from its junction with 
the Anacostia. and the navigation of the Anacostia. at the Navy-yard 
bridge, about 2 miles above its junction with the Potomac. 

ESTABLISHMENT. 

The District of Columbia was established as the seat of government 
i^\' the United State- by proceedings taken under authority and direc- 
tion of acts of Congress approved duly It'-. L790, entitled "An act for 
establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of 



V 



6 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

the United States" (1 Stats., 130), and the act of March 3, 1791, entitled 
' ' An act to amend 'An act for establishing the temporary and permanent 
seat of the Government of the United States' " (1 Stats., 214), pursuant 
to the following provision contained in the eighth section of the first 
article of the Constitution of the United States, enumerating the 
powers of Congress, viz : 

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not 
exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States and the accept- 
ance of Congress, become the seat of the Government of the United States, and to exer- 
cise like authority over all places purchased, by the consent of the legislature of the 
State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock- 
yards, and other needful buildings. 

The right to exercise exclusive authority at the seat of govern- 
ment was conferred upon Congress in order that the legislative and 
executive functions of the Government might be exercised without 
risk of interference, and in consideration of the fact that in June, 
1783, the Continental Congress transferred its sessions from Phila- 
delphia to evade a hostile demonstration which was made toward it by 
a body of soldiers of the Revolutionary army in order to hasten pay- 
ment for their services as such, and that the authorities of that city 
and the State of Penns3 T lvania acknowledged their inabilit} 7 to protect 
that Congress from the threatened intimidation. 

/ SELECTION OF SITE. 

The requisite area for the District was offered to Congress by the 
States of Maryland and Virginia; the former by an act of the general 
assembly of that State, passed December 23, 1788, which directed the 
Representatives of that State in the House of Representatives of the 
Congress of the United States to cede to the Congress of the United 
St- 1 . ■ : i t in said State not exceeding ten miles square which 

the e&se might fix upon and accept for the seat of government; 

State by an act of its general assembty, passed December 3, 
i g a like tract or an3 T lesser quantit}^ of Virginia territory 
f LJQe same purpose. 

The sral assembly of Maryland, by an act passed December 19, 
179 L formally ratified the cession provided for in its act of December 
. '. 1788. 

Maryland also gave $72,000, and in 1796, 1797, and 1799 loaned 
$250,000 more for the erection of public buildings in the District 
for the use of the General Government. Virginia made a grant of 
$120,000 for the same purpose in case of the acceptance by Congress 
of the cession of the site offered by her for the seat of government. 

The southern limit of the area of selection for the site of the Dis- 
trict was, b}^ the act of March 3, 1791, placed at Hunting Creek, an 
estuary of the Potomac River which enters that river from the weft 
immediately below Alexandria, Va. The northern limit was, by the 
act of July 16, 1790, fixed at a small stream named " Connogochegue 
Creek," which enters the Potomac River at Williamsport, Md., about 
100 miles above the southern limit. 

In anticipation of the enactment of the statute of March 3, 1791, and 
to advance the work of locating the boundary lines of the District as 
far as possible pending its consideration, a tentative boundary of the 
District was laid out by Commissioners Thomas Johnson, David Stu- 
art, and Daniel Carroll, who were appointed by President Washing- 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 7 

ton on January 22, 1791, pursuant to the act of July 16, 1790, and 
directed by a Presidential proclamation dated January 24, 1791, to 
proceed forthwith to make a preliminary survey, or, in the President's 
words, to run "lines of experiment" which were substantially in 
accord with those finally adopted as mentioned in the following 
paragraph. 

The site of the District was finally located, partly in the then and 
present Prince George and Montgomery counties, in the State of Mary- 
land, and partly in Fairfax County, in the State of Virginia, by procla- 
mation of President George Washington, March 30, 1791, as follows: 

Beginning at Jones Point, being the upper cape of Hunting Creek in Virginia, and 
at an angle in the outset of 45 degrees west of the north, and running in a direct line 
ten miles for the first line ; then beginning again at the same Jones Point, and running 
another direct line at a right angle with the first across the Potomac, ten miles, for the 
second line; then, from the terminations of the said first and second lines, running two 
other direct lines of ten miles each, the one crossing the Eastern Branch aforesaid, 
and the other the Potomac, and meeting each other in a point. 

The corner stone was laid at Jones Point, on the Virginia shore, with 
Masonic ceremonies, April 15, 1791, and now forms part of the foun- 
dation of the Jones Point light-house, which was built over it. 

A survey of the District, which was commenced in 1881 under the 
direction of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, at the expense 
of the District, demonstrated that the boundary lines of the District 
as laid down by the Commissioners in 1790 are incorrect. The north- 
ern point is 116 feet west of the meridian running through the southern 
corner, and each of the sides exceeds 10 miles in length, as follows: 

Southeastern side, 10 miles 230.6 feet. 
Northeastern side, 10 miles 263.1 feet. 
Southwestern side, 10 miles 70.5 feet. 
Northwestern side, 10 miles 63.0 feet. 

An account of this and other surveys and maps of the District is 
contained in a paper presented before the National Geographic Society 
i>y Marcus Baker, March 23, 1891, and published in Volume VI of the 
National Geographic Magazine. 

ACCEPTANCE OF THE SITE. 

Section 3 of the aforesaid act of July 16, 1790, prescribes, among 
other things, that "the District so defined, limited, and located shall 
I, deemed the District accepted by this act for the permanent seat of 
the Government of the United States." 

NAMING THE DISTRICT, 

The first official mention of the District by name is in a letter of the 
original Commissioners dated September 9, 1791, in which they state: 
% - We have agreed that the Federal district shall be called the Territory 
of Columbia," etc. They had no authority of law to name it. 

The first statutory mention of the name "District of Columbia" is 
in the title, but not in the body, of "An act authorizing a loan for the 
use of the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, and for 
other purposes therein mentioned.'* approved May 6, L796. The Dis- 
trict is also referred to in at least one of the subsequent statutes us the 
Territory of Columbia. 

Although it is frequently called the District of Columbia in various 



-j 



8 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

statutes, it was first so definitely designated by law in the first para- 
graph of "An act providing- a permanent form of government for the 
District of Columbia," approved June 11, 1878, as follows: 

That all the territory which was ceded by the State of Maryland to the Congress 
of the United States for the permanent seat of the Government of the United States 
shall continue to be designated as the District of Columbia (20 Stats., 102). 

ASSUMPTION OF LEGAL JURISDICTION BY THE UNITED STATES. 

The acts of cession of both States provided that the jurisdiction of 
the laws of those States, respectively, over the persons and property of 
individuals residing within the limits of the sections aforesaid should 
not cease or determine until Congress, having accepted such cession, 
should by law provide for the government thereof under its jurisdic- 
tion, in the manner provided in the eighth section of the first article 
of the Constitution of the United States. 

The United States assumed legal jurisdiction in the District by "An 
act concerning the District of Columbia," approved February 27, 1801 
(2 Stats., 103). 

TRANSFER OF THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT TO THE DISTRICT OF 

COLUMBIA. 

The date of the transfer of the seat of Government to the Dis- 
trict of Columbia was fixed by the first paragraph of section 6 of the 
act of July 16, 1790, as follows: 

"And be it enacted, That on the said first Monday in December, in 
the year one thousand eight hundred, the seat of the Government of 
the United States shall, by virtue of this act, be transferred to the Dis- 
trict and place aforesaid:" the place referred to being the portion of 
the District selected for the Federal city. 

The date of the first meeting of Congress in the District was, by an 
act passed May 13, 1800, fixed for the 17th day, or the third Monday, 
in November, 1800; but it actually met for the first time in the Dis- 
trict on November 21 , which was the first day of the session when a 
quorum of both Houses was present. The meeting was in the north 
wing of the Capitol, then the only completed part of the building. A 
quorum of the House of Representatives was present on the 18th of 
November. 

The President arrived in Georgetown on June 3, 1800, and in Wash- 
ington the next day. The personnel and records of the several Depart- 
ments were transferred- from Philadelphia to Washington about the 
same time. The Supreme Court held its first session in Washington 
on the 1th of the ensuing February. 

The Congress provided for by the Constitution began proceedings 
in New York City on April 8, 1789, and on December 1, 1790, removed 
to -Philadelphia, which was chosen by the act of July 16, 1790 (1 Stats. , 
130) as the temporary seat of Government until its removal to the 
District of Columbia. 

The Congress of the Revolution held its first session in Philadelphia, 
Pa., September 5, 1771. It also met in Baltimore, Md. ; Lancaster 
and York, in Pennsylvania; Princeton and Trenton, in New Jersey; 
Annapolis, in Maryland; and in New York City, in the order as stated. 



. 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



COUNTY SUBDIVISION. 



The District was divided into two counties by an act of Congress 
approved February 27. 1801 (2 Stats., 105). The portion derived from 
Virginia was named the county of Alexandria, and the portion from 
Maryland, including the islands in the Potomac River in said District 
(ib.), was named the county of Washington. 



S 



RETROCESSION OF ALEXANDRIA COUNTY. 

Pursuant to an act of Congress of July 9, 1846 (9 Stats.. 35), and with 
the assent of the people of the county and town of Alexandria. Presi- 
dent Polk, by proclamation of September 7, 1846, gave notice that the 
portion derived from the State of Virginia was re-ceded to that State. 
The District was thereby reduced to its present area. 

BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND THE STATE OF 

VIRGINIA. 

The boundary line between the District of Columbia and the State 
of Virginia has, by judicial decisions, and by acts of Virginia and Mary- 
land and of Congress, been fixed at low-water mark on the Virginia 
shore of the Potomac River. 

The low-water mark on the Potomac to which Virginia has a right in the soil is to 
be measured by the same rule; that is to say, from low-water mark at one headland 
to low-water mark at another, without following indentations, bays, creeks, inlets, or 
affluent rivers. (Act of Congress approved March 3, 1879, 20 Stats.. 482.) 

CENSUS. 



The population of the District from 1790 to 1900 has been as follows: 



Date. 


Washing- 
ton. 


George- 
town. 


Wash- 
ington 
County 
(subur- 
ban). 


Alexan- 
dria City. 


Alexan- 
dria 
County 
(subur- 
ban). 


Total. 


Colored. 
included 
in total. 


Slaves, 

included 
in col- 
ored. 


1790 








2. 746 
4,971 
7,227 

8, 218 
8,263 
8,459 

(a) 










1800 


3, 210 
8,208 
13, 247 
18,827 
23,364 
40, 001 
61, L22 
109. 199 
131,947 
147,293 

IT;'. 148 
188,932 
217,617 
220,698 
232,748 


2,993 
4,948 
7,360 
8, 141 
7,312 
8,366 
s, 733 
11,384 
11,571 
12,578 
14,322 
14,846 
14,046 
15, 747 
15,809 
<*) 


1.941 
2,315 
2,726 
2, 993 
3,069 
3, 320 
5,225 
11,117 
16, 533 
17, 753 
c 15, 531 
24,364 
27,111 
37, 155 
41, 195 
45, 973 


97.8 
1. 325 
1,488 
1,310 

1, 508 

(a) 


14, 093 
24.023 
33, 039 
39, 834 
43,712 
51,687 
75,080 
181,700 
160,051 

177,62 4 

203, 159 
218, 157 
230,392 
270,519 
277, 782 
278,718 


2,472 
5, 12 i 
7,278 
9,110 
9,819 
13,746 
1 1,216 

43, 403 

53,624 

59,402 
67,188 

72. 522 

7.-.. 572 

88,325 


2 ('7" 


1810 


3,554 
4,620 
4,505 

3, 320 
3,687 
3,185 

(b) 


1820 


1 880 


1840 


I860 


I860 


1870 






1878 






L880 








1885 








1888 








1890 








1894 








1897 








1900 



















aAlexandria City and county re-ceded to Virginia in 1846. 

bSee under head of " Abolition of African slavery," infra. The decrease in population of Alexan- 
dria County in 1830 was due to absence of slaves and other residents thereof employed in construct- 
ing the Chesapeake and < >hio Canal. 

cThe item of 15,531 for suburban census of 1885 agrees with the official returns. 

'/Georgetown became ■■< pari of Washington February 11, 1878, pursuant to an act of Congi 
that Bate. The population of that part of Washington according to the census of 1900 is 1 1,549. 

The census for 1800 and each subsequent decade was taken nited States; for the year 1878 

by the board of assessors, and for the years i> s ">. 1888, 1894, and 1897 by the Metropolitan p 
department. 



x/ 



V 



10 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

ABOLITION OF AFRICAN SLAVERY. 

African slaveiy in the District of Columbia was abolished April 16 
1862, by the act of Congress approved on that date and entitled "An 
act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the 
District of Columbia" (11 Stats., 376), which provided, among other 
things: 

That all persons held to service or labor within the District of Columbia by reason 
of African descent are hereby discharged and freed of and from all claim to such 
service or labor; and from and after the passage of this act neither slavery nor invol- 
untary servitude, except for crime, whereof the party shall be duly convicted, shall 
hereafter exist in said District. 

This act also directed the President of the United States to appoint 
three commissioners to appraise and apportion the value and validity 
of claims of "all persons loyal to the United States" " k for service or 
labor against persons discharged therefrom by this act," '"not to 
exceed in the aggregate an amount equal to three hundred dollars for 
each person shown to have been so held by lawful claim." One million 
dollars ,was appropriated in the act to cany it into effect, and $100, 000 
more to aid in colonizing in Haiti, Liberia, or such other country as 
the President might determine, such free persons of African'descent 
then residing in the District as desired to emigrate. 

Trade in slaves in the District was by act of September 20, 1850, 
prohibited after January 1, 1851 (1 Stats., 167). 

FORMS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 

A brief account of the several forms of local government which 
have been .in operation in the District since its establishment as the 
seat of the General Government is hereinafter given under the heads 
of "The city of Washington," "Georgetown," "The Levy Court," 
and "The District of Columbia." 

THE CITY OF WASHINGTON. 

LOCATION. 

The localhy in the District of Columbia designated "the city of 
Washington" occupies a peninsula formed by the main and eastern 
branches of the Potomac River. It embraces e the Federal city as laid 
out by the commissioners appointed in 1791, and the town of George- 
town, which was consolidated with it February 11, 1895, by an act of 
Congress of that date. 

The portion of the city not within the limits of former Georgetown 
was established pursuant to the provisions of section 3 of the act of 
Congress of July 16, 1790, entitled "An act for establishing the tem- 
porary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States" 
(2 Stats., 130), which provided that the commissioners appointed under 
section 2 of said act to define the limits of the District of Columbia should 
have the power ' ' to purchase or accept such quantity of land on the 
eastern side of said (Potomac) river, within the said District, as the 
President shall deem proper for the use of the United States, and 
according to such plans as the President shall approve; the said com- 
missioners, or any two of them, shall, prior to the first Monday in 
December, in the year one thousand eight hundred, provide suitable 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 11 

buildino-s for the accommodation of Congress, and of the President, 
and for the public offices of the Government of the United States." 

The city was located in the portion of the District ceded by Mary- 
land conformably to the requirement of the act of March 3, 1791, 
amendatory of the act of July 16, 1790, "that nothing herein contained 
shall authorize the erection of the public buildings otherwise than on 
the Maryland side of the river Potomac." By an act of Congress 
approved August 18, 1856 (21 Stats.. 120), the bounds of the corporation 
of the city of "Washington were extended so far as to comprehend the 
Lower Eastern Branch or Navy- Yard Bridge. 



As first established it contained 6,110.91 acres: buton February 11, 
1895, its area was increased to 6,511.69 acres by the annexation of J 
Georgetown. 

PROCUREMENT OF THE SITE. 

The proprietors of the 6,110.91 acres cony eyed the same on June 29, 
1791, in trust to two trustees, Thomas Beall and John Mackall Gantt, 
" to be laid out for a Federal city, with such streets, squares, parcels, 
and lots as the President of the United States for the time being shall 
approve." 

Those trustees were required to convey. " for the use of the United 
States forever, 1 ' to the commissioners appointed to lay out the District 
and city, all the said streets and such of the said squares, parcels, and 
lots as the President might deem proper for such use. 

The interest of the State of Maryland in the site was, by the legis- 
lature of that State, on December 19, 1791, vested in the same trus- 
tees, subject to the same terms and conditions as those to which the 
said proprietors had subjected their land. 

THE DESIGNING OF THE PLAN OF THE CITY. 

The credit of designing the plan of Washington is mainly due to v 
Maj. Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who was employed for that purpose. 
His plan, without material alteration, was approved by President 
'Washington in August, 1791, but upon his contumacious refusal of the 
commissioners' request that his plan be engraved, he was dismissed 
March 1. 1792. 

Upon the dismissal of Major L'Enfant, Andrew Ellicott, who had 
assisted in surveying the site, was directed to "finish the laying of 
the plan on the ground,'" and prepare a plan from the materials gath- 
ered and from the information obtained by him while assisting L'Enfant 
in making the surveys. His plan, which was substantially that of 
L'Enfant. was tin 1 Hist plan engraved and published for distribution. 
Its publication and promulgation were alluded to by President Wash- 
ington as '"giving the final and regulating stamp to the city of Washing- 
ton." The general features of this plan have stood the test of time SO 
well that Congress, by an act approved August 27. 1888 (25 Stats.. 451), 
directed that " no future subdivisions of land in the District of Colum- 
bia without the limits of ihe cities of Washington and Georgetown 
shall be recorded in the surveyor's office of said District unless made in 
conformity with the general plan of the city o\' Washington." and 
■' ; t in the general highway-extension law of March 2. 1893. 



y 



12 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

THE FEE SIMPLE TO THE STREETS AND RESERVATIONS. 

In consequence of disputes as to the meaning of portions of the deed 
the trustees refused to convey the streets and reservations to the com- 
missioners appointed to lay out the city; but the Supreme Court of 
the United States decided that the fee simple therein was vested in the 
United States. (John P. Van Ness and Marcia, his wife, complainants, 
appellants, v. The Mayor, Aldermen, and Board of Common Council of 
the City of Washington and the United States of America, defendants. 
4 Peters, 232.) 

DISTRIBUTION OF LOTS. 

The deed in trust directed that a fair and equal division should be 
made of the land not taken for streets, squares, parcels, and lots for the 
use of the United States; that the lots? assigned to the proprietors 
should be conveyed to them by the trustees, and that the other lots be 
sold as the President might direct; the proceeds of such sales to be first 
applied to the payment, in money, to the proprietors for the land set 
apart for the use of the United States, excepting the streets, at £25, or 
$66f per acre, and the remainder to providing public buildings as con- 
templated hy sections 3 and 1 of the act of July 16, 1790. 

While the trustees, b} T a deed dated November 30, 1796, conveyed to 
the commissioners appointed to lay out the city such lands as were 
allotted to the United States, no reconveyance was made by the trustees 
to the original grantors of the lands to which they were entitled under 
the trust deeds. The act of the Maryland legislature of December 19, 
1791, however, which ratified the cession of the territory selected as 
the site of the District, provided that the commissioners should have 
recorded every allotment and assignment to the respective proprietors, 
and these entries of allotment, together with the certificates thereof, 
are the only evidence of title of the original grantors to the portions 
to which they were entitled under the provisions in their trust deeds. 
(See opinion of Attorney-General Cushing, dated August 1, 1855.) 

The land was divided as follows: 

Acres. 

Total number of acres taken for the city 6, 110. 94 

Donated to the United States for avenues, streets, and alleys 3, 606 

Donated to the United States, 10, 136 building lots 982 

Bought by the United States for public buildings and use 541 

Total number of acres taken by the United States 5, 129 

10,136 lots given back to former owners 981. 94 

As the 511 acres for public buildings and reservations were required 
to be paid for out of the first proceeds of the sale of the lots donated 
to the Government, it will be seen that of the 6,111 acres 5,129, or five- 
sixths of the whole, were a gift to the Government. Thus the United 
States not only got without cost the fee simple in the streets and the 
sites and grounds for the Capitol and other public buildings, but received 
a large amount of money from the net proceeds of the sales of the alter- 
nate building lots apportioned to it. 

NAMING THE CITY. 

The first official mention of the city by name was in a letter of the 
original commissioners to the President, dated September 9, 1791, in 
which they state: " We have agreed that the Federal district shall be 



/ 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT 01 COLUMBIA. 13 

called the Territory of Columbia, and the Federal city the City of Wash- • 
ington," although they had no statutory authority to name either of them . 

The first statutory reference to it by that name is in the title of "An 
act authorizing a loan for the use of the city of Washington, in the 
District of Columbia, and for other purposes therein mentioned." 
approved May 6, 1796, but the name does not occur in the body of 
the law. 

The boundaries of the city wore never specifically defined by law. /s 

Till-: FIRST CITY OFFICIALS. y 

The first local officials of the Federal city were the President of the 
United States, the three commissioners appointed by the President^ 
under act of July 16, 1790, and, to a limited extent, the officers of the 
levy court. On 'July 1, 1802, the office of the three commissioner- was 
abolished by section 1 of "An act to abolish the board of commissioners 
in the city of Washington, anclf or other purposes, approved May 1, 181 >2 " n 
(2 Stats.*. 175), which directed the commissioners to deliver all their 
official records and property relating to said city to an officer created / 
by said act and styled "superintendent," to be appointed by the Presi- 
dent, and to succeed to all the powers and duties of said commissioners. 

This office of "superintendent" was abolished March 3, I s 17. by the 
operation of an act of Congress approved April 29, 1816 (3 Stats., 32-1), 
which, in lieu thereof, created the office of one commissioner to super- 
intend public buildings and succeed to all the powers and duties of the 
former three commissioners and of said superintendent, but to "hold 
no other office under the authority of the United States." y 

The office of commissioner in charge of public buildings so created 
was abolished and its duties and powers transferred to the Chief of 
Engineers of the United States Armv bv an act of Congress approved 
March 2, 1867 (14 Stats., ±m). 

The duties which were thus transferred to the Chief of Engineers 
were, with subsequent additions and changes, those which related to 
the supervision of the national public buildings and grounds in the 
city of Washington, excepting the care and improvement of the streets 
and other public highways. 

The duties which commonly appertain to municipal control were, as v 
hereinafter stated, intrusted to the inhabitants of the city of Washing- 
ton by an act incorporating them for that purpose. 

THE FIRST CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WASHINGTON. 

The first incorporation of the inhabitants of the city of Washington 
was effected by an act of Congress approved May 3, 1802 (2 Stats., 
195). This charter provided for a mayor appointable by the President 
of the United States, and a city council to be elected by the people, 
and was modified by subsequent acts of Congress. The Hist mayor 
was appointed in June, 1802, and was reappointed annually and served 
until the second Monday in June, 1812. An act of Congress of May 
4, 1812 (2 Stats., 721). devolved the duty of electing a mayor upon the 
city council. That method was in force until the first Monday of June, 
L820, from which date, pursuant to said act of Congress approved May 
15. 1820, the mayor was elected bv the people for terms of two years 
until May 31, 1871, <>n which date the charter of the corporation 
expired pursuant to the provisions of an act of Congress approved 
February 21, L871 (16 Stats.. 419), which continued the name of the 
city of Washington, but only as a local designation. 



14 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

WIDTH OF HIGHWAYS. 

The widths of the streets and avenues of Washington, between the 
building lines, are : 

NORTH. 

ABCDEFGHI K LMNOPQRST 

90 90 80 70 90 100 90 90 90 147.8 90 80 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 

U V W 
90 80 80 

SOUTH. 

A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V AV 

90 90 80 90 90 70 100 80 90 80 90 90 90 85 85 85 85 85 85 80 80 40 

EAST. 

£ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 
80 110 90 90 85 100 85 90 100 90 80 90 112 90 100--90 80 100 80 

19 20 21 22 23 24 

80 100 80 80. 80 80 

WEST. 

\ 1 2 3 4 4J 5 6 7 S 9 10 11 12 13 13$ 14 15 

80 90 90 110 80 110 80 100 85 100 85 85 111.5 85 110 70 110 110 

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 

160 110 90 110 90 90 90 100 90 90 80 70 80 

North and South Capitol, 130; East Capitol, 160; Boundary, 80; Water, 60 and 80. 

AVENUES. 

Connecticut, 130; Delaware, 160; Georgia, 160; Indiana, 160; Ken- 
tucky, 120; Louisiana, 160: Maryland, 160; Massachusetts, 160; Mis- 
souri, 85; Maine, 85; New York, east of Fifteenth street, 130; New 
York, west of Seventeenth street, 160; New Jersey, 160; North Caro- 
lina, 160; New Hampshire, 120; Ohio, 160; Pennsylvania, east of 
Fifteenth street, 160; Pennsylvania, west of Seventeenth street, 130; 
Rhode Island, 130; South Carolina, 160; Tennessee, 120; Vermont, 
130; Virginia, Mall to Eastern Branch, 160; Virginia, B street to 
Eock Creek, 120. 

Besides the aforesaid streets and avenues, a number of small streets 
have been named by Congress or the corporation of Washington and 
approved by the President of the United States. 

Many minor streets which were not in the original plan of the city, 
nor created by specific legislative action, have been made b} T the sub- 
division of squares, and lots, and general authority is given by an act 
of Congress approved July 22, 1892, as amended by act of August 2 
1894, to open minor streets not less than 10 nor more than 60 feet wid 
to run through a square from one street to another. 

,An act of Congress approved March 1. 1884 (23 Stats., 3), declai 
that all public roads and highways while kept up and maintained 
such are post routes. 

ORIGINAL ALLEYS. 
I 

President Washington, in his order of October 17, 1791, regulal 
the manner and materials for building in the city of Washing- 
states: " The wa}^ into the squares being designed in a special ma} 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 15 

[for the common use or convenience of the occupiers of the respective 
squares, the property in the same is reserved in the public, so that 
there may be an immediate interference on am r abuse of the use thereof 
by any individual to the nuisance or obstruction of other-."" 

GEORGETOWN. 

The part of Washington which was formerly Georgetown was laid 
out pursuant to an act of the province of Maryland dated June 8, 1751, 
passed in response to a petition of several inhabitants of Frederick 
County, in said State. This act appointed seven commissioners to pur- 
chase 60 acres belonging to Messrs. George Gordon and George Beall, 
on the Potomac River, "above the mouth of Rock Creek, adjacent to 
the inspection house in the county aforesaid,'' and to cause the said 6<) 
acres to be "surveyed, divided, and laid out, as near as conveniently 
ma}* be. into 80 equal lots, allowing- sufficient space or quantity thereof 
for streets, lanes, and alleys." The act then adds that upon the com- 
pletion of said proceedings the locality is " erected into a town, and 
shall be called by the name of Georgetown." It was never incorpo- ^ 
rated as a city, but was commonly called the city of Georgetown as a 
consequence of the casual reference to it by that title in numerous acts 
of Congress. 

The general supposition is that the town was named in honor of 
George II. then the reigning sovereign of Great Britain, but it is al 
contended that it was named as a compliment to the two Georges fi 
whom the site was obtained. 

The commission, whose membership was reduced to live in 17 
continued to exercise the local municipal authority in the town until 
December 25, 1789. when the town was incorporated by an act of 
general assembly of Maryland of that date with a mayor, record 
aldermen, and common council. The first mayor was appointed by 
that act for one year, to commence January 1, 1790. The office was 
thereafter tilled annually on the first Monday of January by the votes of 
the mayor, recorder, and common council, or in an analogous manner, 
until the fourth Monday of February. 1831. The office was then and 
thereafter biennially filled by vote of the people. 

The streets of this part of Washington generally run due north and 
south and east and west. 

By an arbitrary order of the District Commissioners, dated October 
4. 1880, the north and south streets were renamed from Twenty-sixth 
to Thirty-eighth, both included, in continuation of the western series 
of the streets of Washington having the same general direction: and 
the east and west streets from K (or Water) to W in order to agree as 
nearly as practicable with the corresponding streets in Washington. 

A tew streets, \ ■]■/.. Prospect, Dumbarton, Olive. Jefferson, Valley, 
Potomac Grace, and Needwood, were so situated as not to admit oi 
designation under either of those systems. 

The streets are 60 feet wide from building line to building line, 
except K. which is 70; M, 82£; Thirtv-fifth, 80; Thirty-second from 
K to the angle south of X. 82£; Valley. 33; Mill. 33; and Poplar, 4<». 

Georgetown had been enlarged by numerous additions, until it em- 
braced 400| acre-. 

Its charter was revoked May 31, L871, by the act o\' Congress of 
February 21, 1871, aforesaid, by which its name was retained as a 
topographical designation, until its consolidation with Washington by * 
the act of February 11, 1895 (l ; s Stats., 650). 



16 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIxi. 

THE LEVY COURTS. 

When the District of Columbia was first established the local public '. 
affairs of that portion of its territory located in Maryland were admin- ' 
istered by two bodies, which had jurisdiction over the portions derived 
from Prince George County and from Montgomery County, respec- 
s tively, composed of justices of the peace, who were commissioned by 
the governor and council of that State as "'justices of the levy court." 

The jurisdiction for the same purposes in the portion derived from 
Virginia at that time reposed in the county courts of that State. 

By section 11 of an act of Congress approved February 27, 1801 
(2 Stats.. 107). the President of the United States was directed to appoint, 
in and for each of said counties, an indefinite number of justices of the 
peace, to continue in office for five years. Section 1 of an act approved 
March 3, 1801 (ib., 115), constituted these magistrates a "board of 
commissioners/ 1 with the same powers and duties as those then per- 
formed by the levy courts of Maryland. 

Under the above-mentioned and subsequent laws of Congress the 
levy courts administered the local governmental affairs of that part of 
the" District of Columbia situated outside of the cities of Washington 
and Georgetown. 

No subsequent legislation seems to have been enacted by Congress 
relative to the jurisdiction of the levy court of the county of Alex- 
andria except as it was affected by the act re-ceding that county to 
Virginia. 

The membership of the court for that part of the District derived 

om Maryland was fixed at seven by the act of July 1, 1812 (2 Stats., 
773), to be annually designated by the President of the United States 

om among the existing magistrates of the county; two from east of 
-uock Creek, outside of the city of Washington; two from west of Rock 
Creek and outside of Georgetown, and three from Georgetown. The 
city of Washington, although not represented in the court, was required 
by section 11 of the same act to bear and defray equally with the other 
parts of the county the general county expenses and charges, other 
than for the expenses of the roads and bridges outside of the limits of 
Washington and Georgetown; but by section 16 of the act of May 17, 
1848 (9 Stats., 230), the President was directed to appoint four members 
from the city of Washington in addition to the seven appointable from 
the other portions of the District. 

The requirement that the membership of the court should be 
selected from among the justices of the peace for the county of Wash- 
ington was repealed May 3, 1862, by an act of that date (12 Stats., 381). 

By an act approved March 3, 1863 (12 Stats., 799), the membership 
of the court was reduced to nine persons, without respect to their occu- 
pations, to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, 
in such manner that the terms of one-third of the members should expire 
annually, and its jurisdiction and functions were specifically prescribed. 

The functions of the levy court remained substantially as established 
by the last-named act until Mav 31, 1871, when the court was abolished 
by the act of February 21, 1871 (16 Stats., 128), which consolidated 
the local governments in the District into one municipality. 

FIRST MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF THE ENTIRE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

The act of Congress of February 21, 1871, which revoked the char- 
ters of the corporations of the city of Washington, Georgetown, and 



y/ 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 17 

the lev} T court of the count}' of Washington, established in their stead 
a single municipal government named the District of Columbia, having 
jurisdiction conterminous with '"all that territory which was ceded by 
the State of Maryland to the Congress of the United States for the 
permanent seat of the Government of the United States. 1 ' All valid 
laws and ordinances then existing in the District were, by said act, 
continued in force. The new municipality consisted of a governor, a- / 
board of public works composed of the governor and four other per- 
sons, a secretary, a board of health, a legislative assembly consisting 
of a council of eleven members, and a house of delegates consisting of 
twenty-two members, and a Delegate in the House of Representatives 
of the United States. J 

The governor, the board of public works, the secretary, the board -y 
of health, and the council were appointed by the President of the 
United States, by and with the consent of the Senate. The members ' 
of the house of delegates and the Delegate in the House of Repre- y 
sentatives were elected bv the qualified voters of the District of Colum- 
bia. The official term of the governor, members of the board x>f 
public works, the secretary, and the members of the board of health 
was four years; the term of the members of the council and the Dele- 
gate to Congress two years, and the term of the members of the house 
of delegates one 3 T ear. 

SECOND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF THE ENTIRE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

On June 20, 1874, by an act of Congress of that date (18 Stats., 116), 
the form of government established by the act of February 21, 1871, 
was abolished, and the executive municipal authority in the District 
temporarily vested in three Commissioners appointed by the President 
of the United States and confirmed b} T the Senate, who succeeded in 
general to the powers and duties of the governor and the board of 
public works. All valid laws affecting the District then existing were 
continued in force. 

This temporaiy form of government existed until July 1, 1878, 
when, pursuant to an act of Congress of June 11, 1878 (20 Stats., 102), 
it was succeeded b} r the present form. 

THE PRESENT FORM OF GOVERNMENT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

The present local government of the District of OoJumbia is a munic- 
ipal corporation, having jurisdiction coincident with the territory which 
had been subject to the two municipal governments immediately pre- 
ceding it. This government is administered by a board of three Com- 
is,-ioners, having in general equal powers and duties. Two of them, 
ho must have been actual residents of the District for three years 
ixt before their appointment, and have during that period claimed 
sidence nowhere else, are appointed from civil life by the President 
the United States, and confirmed by the Senate of the United States, 
r a term of three years each, and until their successors are appointed and 
lalitied. Attorney-General Devens rendered an opinion July 7, 1880, 
at the term of office of any Commissioner appointed from civil life, 
lose predecessor shall not have served a full term of three years, is 
ree years from the date of his appointment and until his successor 
all be appointed and qualified, and not for the unexpired part of such 
S. Doc. 207 2 



18 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

predecessor's term. The other Commissioner is detailed from time to 
time by the President of the United States from the Engineer Corps of 
the United States Army, and shall not be required to perform any other 
, duty (20 Stats., 103). _ The act of June 11, 1878, prescribes that the 
Commissioner so detailed shall have lineal rank above that of captain; 
but this requirement is qualified by the joint resolution approved 
December 24, 1890 (26 Stats., 1113), which provides that he- 
may, in the discretion of the President of the United States, be detailed from among 
the captains or officers of higher grade having served at least fifteen years in the 
Corps of Engineers of the Army of the United States. 

Three officers of the same corps, junior to said Commissioner, maj r 
be detailed to assist him by the President of the United States (28 Stats. , 
216). 

The senior officer of the Corps of Engineers of the Army who shall 
for the time being be detailed to act as assistant (and in case of his 
absence from the District or disability, the junior officer so detailed) 
shall, in the event of the absence from the District or disability of the 
Commissioner who shall for the time being be detailed from the Corps 
of Engineers, perform all the duties imposed b}^ law upon said Com- 
missioner (26 Stats., 1113). 

SALARY AND BOND OF COMMISSIONERS. 

■ 

The salary of each of the Commissioners is $5,000 per annum. The 
two Commissioners appointed from civil life give bond to the United 
States in the sum of $50,000 each (20 Stats., 103; 21 Stats., 460). No 
bond is required of the Commissioner detailed from the Corps of 
Engineers. 

OATH OF OFFICE OF COMMISSIONERS. 

Each of said Commissioners shall, before entering upon the discharge 
of his duties, take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution 
of the United States and to faithfully discharge the duties imposed 
upon him by law (20 Stats., 103). 

PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD. 

One of said Commissioners shall be chosen president of the Board of 
y. Commissioners at their first meeting, and annually and whenever a 
vacancy shall occur thereafter (20 Stats., 103). 

QUORUM. 

Any two of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, sitt'mtj 
If as a board, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business 
(26 Stats., 1113). 

SUBDIVISION OF DUTIES. 

For the purpose of facilitating the administration of the various 
municipal affairs, the Commissioners have arranged their duties in 
substantially three groups and have assigned a several one of these 
groups to the immediate supervision of each Commissioner, whose 
recommendations on the matters so allotted to him are ultimately acted 
upon by himself and his colleagues as a board. 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 19 

EX OFFICIO DUTIES OF COMMISSIONERS. 

One of the Commissioners is ex officio a member of the board of 
trustees of the Reform School for Boys (21 Stats., 156), and one an 
ex officio trustee of the Columbia Hospital for Women and Lying-in 
Asj r lum (ib., 157). 

POWER OF APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL. 

The Commissioners are authorized to abolish any office, to consol- 
idate two or more offices, reduce the number of employees, remove 
from office, and make appointment to any office under them authorized 
by law. 

GENERAL DUTIES OF COMMISSIONERS. 



ESTIMATES. 

The Commissioners are required to submit to the Secretary of the 
Treasury -of the United States, on or before October 1 of each year. 
an estimate of the amount necessary to defovy the expenses of the gov- 
ernment of the District of Columbia for the next fiscal year, which the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall transmit to Congress with a statement 
as to the extent to which said estimates have his approval (20 Stats. . 
104; 28 Stats.. 251). 

APPORTIONMENT OF EXPENSE. 

The organic act declares that "To the extent to which Congress 
shall approve of said estimates, Congress shall appropriate the amount 
of fifty per centum thereof; and the remaining fifty per centum of 
such approved estimates shall be levied and assessed upon the taxable 
property and privileges in said district other than the property of the 
United States and of the District of Columbia" (20 Stats., 104). 

ASSESSMENTS. 

The assessment of real property for the purpose of general annual 

taxation is made by a board of three assistant assessors, who sit also 

th< assessor as a board of equalization to hear appeals from their 

snts. This assessment is made every three years, but the 

it assessors have power to assess at an\ time any assessable 



/ 



The Commissioners are in a general way vested with jurisdiction 
covering all the ordinary features of municipal government. 

Although Congress is vested with exclusive legislative authority in 
the District of Columbia, it has by sundry statutes empowered the Com- ^ 
missioners to make building regulations; plumbing regulations: to make 
and enforce all such reasonable and usual police regulations as the3 r 
may deem necessary for the protection of lives, limbs, health, comfort, 
and quiet of all persons and the protection of all property within the 
District, and other regulations of a municipal nature. The Commission- 
ers have from time to time exercised the duty so devolved upon them. 

In the exercise of their duties, power, and authority, the} T must make 
no contract nor incur, any obligation other than such contracts and 
obligations as shall be approved by Congress (20 Stats.. 103). 



f 



y 



20 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

real property which may have escaped assessment or become liable 
thereto since the last triennial assessment, and to strike off any prop- 
erty which for any reason shall since then have become nonassessable. 

Taxable personal property is assessed by the assessor whenever he 
becomes cognizant that any property of that nature liable to taxation 
has not been assessed. 

Assessments against private real property for its share of the cost 
of public works especially beneficial thereto, and for other special 
charges except for use of water, are also made by the assessor. 

Water rents are assessed by the water department. 

BATE OF TAXATION. 

The rate of taxation in any one j^ear shall not exceed $1.50 on every 
$100 of real estate not exempted by law; and on personal property 
not taxable elsewhere $1.50 on every $100, according to the cash valua- 
tion thereof. Upon real property held and used exclusively for agri- 
cultural purposes without the limits of the city of Washington, and to 
be so designated by the assessors in their annual returns, the rate for 
any one year shall not exceed $1 on every $100 (20 Stats., 105). 

FISCAL YEAE. 

The fiscal year begins with July 1 and terminates with the 30th of 
the succeeding June. 

PEOPOSALS. 

When any repairs of streets, avenues, alleys, or sewers within the 
District of Columbia are to be made, or when new pavements are to be 
substituted in place of those worn out, new ones laid, or new streets 
opened, sewers built, or an} 7 works the total cost of which shall exceed 
the sum of $1,000, notice must be given in one newspaper in Wash- 
ington, and if the total cost shall exceed $5,000 then in one newspaper 
in each of the cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, also, 
for one week, for proposals, with full specifications as to material for 
the whole or any portion of the works proposed to be done (20 
Stats., 105). 

The lowest responsible proposal for the kind and character of pave- 
ment or other work which the Commissioners shall determine upon 
must in all cases be accepted, but the Commissioners have the right, in 
their discretion, to reject all of such proposals (ib.). 

CONTEACTS. 

Work capable of being executed under a single contract shall not be 
subdivided so as to reduce the sum of money to be paid therefor to 
less than $1,000 (ib.). 

-All contracts for the construction, improvement, alteration, or 
repairs of the streets, avenues, highways, alleys, gutters, sewers, and 
all work of like nature must be made and entered into only by and 
with the official unanimous consent of the Commissioners of the Dis- 
trict (ib., 106). 

The Commissioners may make separate contracts for materials and 
for labor, in executing public works (22 Stats., 125). 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 21 

And all the contracts shall be copied into a book kept for that pur- 
pose and be signed b}>- the said Commissioners, and no contract involv- 
ing an expenditure of more than $100 shall be valid until recorded and 
signed as aforesaid (20 Stats., 106). 

Pursuant to an order dated August 2, 1878, all contracts are pre- 
pared by and recorded by the Engineer Commissioner. 

The Comptroller of the Treasury orally advised the Commissioners 
that books composed of original copies of contracts bound together 
would meet the requirements of this law as to copying contracts into 
a book. 

officers' and contractors' bonds. 

Good and sufficient bonds to the United States, in a penal sum not 
less than the a/mount of the contract, with sureties to be approved by 
the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, shall be required from 
all contractors, guaranteeing that the terms of their contract shall be 
strictly and faithfully performed to the satisfaction of and acceptance 
by said Commissioners (20 Stats., 106). 

Neither of said Commissioners, nor any officer whatsoever of the 
District of Columbia, shall be accepted as surety upon any bond 
required to be given to the District of Columbia. Nor shall an}' con- 
tractor be accepted as surety for anv officer or other contractor in said 
District (ib., 103). 

Every officer required by law to take and approve official bonds shall 
cause the same to be examined at least once every two years for the 
purpose of ascertaining the sufficiency of the sureties thereon; and 
every officer having power to tix the amount of an official bond shall 
examine it to ascertain the sufficiencj' of the amount thereof and 
approve or fix said amount at least once in two years and as much 
oftener as he may deem it necessary. 

Every officer whose dut} T it is to take and approve official bonds 
shall cause all such bonds to be renewed every four years after their 
dates, or oftener if he deem such action necessary. In his discretion 
a new bond may be waived for the period of service of a bonded officer 
after the expiration of a four-year term of service, pending the 
appointment and qualification of his successor. The nonperformance 
of anv of said requirements on the part of any official of the Govern- 
ment shall not be held to affect in anv respect the liability of principal 
or sureties on any bond made or to be made to the United States, and 
the liability of the principal and sureties on all official bonds shall con- 
tinue and cover the period of service ensuing until the appointment 
and qualification of the successor of the principal; nor shall anything 
in the foregoing be construed to repeal or modifv section 3836 of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States. (28 Stats'.. 807.) 

TERM OF CONTRACTORS' LIABILITY. 

Contractors shall keep new pavements or other new works in repair 
for a term of five years from the date of the completion of their 
contracts (20 Stats.. 106). 

KETENTS FROM CONTRACTORS. 

Ten per cent of the cost of all new works shall be retained as an 
additional security and a guarantee fund to keep the same in repair 
for said term (20 Stats.. 106), which said per cent may be invested hy 



22 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

the Treasurer of the United States, at the request and risk of the con- 
tractor, in any class of bonds of the United States or of the District 
of Columbia, whenever the retent is $100 or more (24 Stats., 501). 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

/ The Commissioners of the District of Columbia are authorized to 
appoint seven persons, bona tide residents and taxpayers of the District 
of Columbia, and who have been such for five 3 r ears immediately pre- 
ceding their appointment, who constitute a board of education, and 
whose term of office is seven years, except that the terms of the persons 
first appointed terminate as follows: One each year, to be determined 
by lot among the seven members of the board first appointed. The 
compensation of members of the board is $10 each for personal attend- 

v ance at each meeting, but shall not exceed for any member $500 per 
annum. The board has complete jurisdiction over all administrative 
matters connected with the public schools of the District of Columbia, 
except that all expenditures of public funds for such school purposes 
are made and accounted for as now provided by law under the direction 
and control of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. The 
board makes all needful rules and regulations which may be proper for 
the government and control of schools, and makes annual report to the 
Commissioners of the District of Columbia, who transmit the same to 
Congress, of the condition and operations of said schools, and the 
sanitary and structural condition of all buildings in use as well as those 
in course of construction, with recommendations as respects needed 
changes. 

The board has power to appoint one superintendent for all the 

v public schools of the District of Columbia, two assistant superintend- 
ents, one of whom, under the direction of the superintendent, has 
charge of schools for colored children; a secretary, and three clerks, 

y/ and to remove said officers at its pleasure, and has power to employ 
and remove all teachers, officers, and other employees connected with 
the public schools not already specified. Graduates of the normal 
schools have preference in all cases when appointments of teachers for 
the grade schools are to be made. The superintendent annually sub- 
mits to the board for its approval the course of studies and list of text- 
books and other apparatus used in said schools. 

The board annually sends to the Commissioners of the District of 
Columbia an estimate in detail of the amount of money required for 
the public schools for the ensuing year, and the Commissioners include 
the same in their annual estimate of appropriations for the District of 
Columbia with such recommendations as they deem proper. (Act of 

\ Congress approved June 6, 1900.) 

BOARD OF CHARITIES. 

t A board of charities, to consist of five members, residents of the Dis- 
trict, shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, each for a term of three 
years, but in such manner that the terms of not more than two of them 
shall expire in any one or the same year. The members of said board 
J shall serve without compensation. No member shall serve as trustee 
or other administrative officer of any institution subject to the visita- 
tion of the said board. The board shall elect a president and vice- 
president from among its own m ' all appoint a secretary 

LofC. 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 23 

and such other officers, inspectors, and clerks as it may deem proper, 
and fix the number, duties, and compensation thereof subject to appro- 
priations of Congress. 

The said board of charities shall visit, inspect, and maintain a gen- 
eral supervision over all institutions, societies, or associations of a 
charitable, eleemosynary, correctional, or reformatory character which 
are supported in whole or in part by appropriations of Congress, made 
for the care or treatment of residents of the District of Columbia; and 
no payment shall be made to any such charitable, eleemosynary, cor- 
rectional, or reformatory institution for any resident of the District 
of Columbia who is not received and maintained therein pursuant to 
the rules established by such board of charities, except in the case of 
persons committed by the courts, or abandoned infants needing imme- 
diate care. The officers in charge of all institutions subject to the 
supervision of the board of charities shall furnish said board, on 
request, such information and statistics as may be desired; and to 
secure accuracy, uniformity, and completeness of such statistics the 
board may prescribe such forms of report and registration as may be 
deemed to be essential; and all plans for new institutions shall, before 
the adoption of the same, be submitted to said board for suggestion 
and criticism. The Commissioners of the District of Columbia may 
at any time order an investigation by the board, or a committee of its 
members, of the management of any penal, charitable, or reformatory 
institution in the District of Columbia; and said board, or any author- 
ized committee of its members, when making such investigation, shall 
have power to send for persons and papers and to administer oaths and 
affirmations; and the report of such investigation, with the testimony, 
shall be made to the Commissioners. All accounts and expenditures 
of said board shall be certified as may be required by the Commis- 
sioners, and paid as other accounts against the District of Columbia. 
The said board shall make an annual report to Congress, through the 
Commissioners of the District of Columbia, giving a full and complete 
account of all matters placed under the supervision of the board, all 
expenses in detail, and all officers and agents employed, with a report 
of the secretary, showing the actual condition of all institutions and 
agencies under the supervision of the board, the character and econ- 
omy of administration thereof, and the amount and sources of their 
public and private income. The said report shall also include recom- 
mendations for the economical and efficient administration of the chari- 
ties and reformatories of the District of Columbia. The said board 
shall prepare and include with its annual report such estimates of 
future appropriations as will, in the judgment of a majority of its mem- 
bers, best promote the effective, harmonious, and economical manage- 
ment of the affairs under its supervision; and such estimates submitted 
shall be included in the regular annual Book of Estimates. No member 
or employee of said board shall be either directly or indirectly interested 
in any contract for building, repairing, or furnishing any institution 
which the board is authorized to investigate and supervise (ib.). 

BOARD <)K CHILDREN'S GUARDIANS. 

AX ACT To provide for the care of dependent children in the District of Columbia 
and to create a board of children's guardians. 

II it enacted by the Senatt and Honse of Representatives of th< United 
States of America in Congress assembled^ That there shall be created, in 



v^ 



24 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

and for the District of Columbia, a board to be known as the board of 
children's guardians, composed of nine members, who shall serve with- 
out compensation, the said board to be a body politic and corporate 
and to have the powers and to be constituted in the manner hereinafter 
provided. 

Sec. 2. That the members of the board of children's guardians shall 

• be appointed bj^ the judges of the police court and the judge holding 
the criminal court of the District of Columbia, met together for that 
purpose; the assent of a majority of such judges being necessary to 
appointment in each case: Provided, That there shall alwa} 7 s be at 
least three representatives of each sex upon the board. Of the nine 
members first appointed after the passage of this act, three shall be 
appointed for one year, three for two years, and three for three years. 
Thereafter all appointments, except such as shall be made for the 
remainder of unexpired terms, shall be for the term of three } r ears. 
The judges of the police court and the judge holding the criminal court, 
or a majority of them, when met together for that purpose, may remove 
for cause any member of the board: Provided, That such member shall 
be given an opportunity to be heard in his own defense. 

Sec. 3. That the board shall elect from its own members a president, 
vice-president, and secretary, who shall severally discharge the duties 
usual to such offices, or such as the by-laws of the board maj r prescribe. 
The board shall have the power subject to the approval of the Commis- 

y sioners to employ not more than two agents, at an annual compensation 
not exceeding two thousand four hundred dollars for the two, and pre- 
scribe their duties, and to conclude arrangements with persons or insti- 
tutions for the care of dependent children at such rates as may be agreed 
upon. 

Sec. 4. That said board shall have the care and supervision of the 
following classes of children: First. All children committed under sec- 
tion two of the act approved February thirteenth, eighteen hundred 

y and eighty -five, entitled, "An act for the protection of children in the 
District of Columbia, and for other purposes." Second. All children 
who are destitute of suitable homes and adequate means of earning an 
honest living, all children abandoned by their parents or guardians, all 
children of habitually drunken or vicious or unfit parents, all children 
habitually begging on the streets or from door to door, all children 
kept in vicious or immoral associations, all children known by then- 
language or life to be vicious or incorrigible whenever such children 
may be committed to the care of the board by the police court or the 
criminal court of the District; and power is hereby given to these courts 
to commit such children when not over sixteen years of age to said 
board: Provided, That the laws regulating the commitment of children 
to the reform schools of the District shall not be deemed to be repealed 
in any part by this act. Third. Such children as the board of trustees of 
the reform school for boys or the reform school for girls, majr, in their 
discretion, commit to the Board of Children's Guardians, and power 
is hereby given the board of trustees of the said reform school to com- 
mit any inmate of their respective institutions to the said board of 
guardians, conditionally upon the good behavior of the child so com- 
mitted. Fourth. Under the rules to be established by the board, chil- 
dren may be received and temporarily cared for pending investigation 
or judgment of the court. 

Sec. 5. That the board shall be the legal guardian of all children com- 
mitted to it by the courts, and shall have full power to board them in 

V 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 25 

private families, to board thern in institutions willing to receive them, 
to bind them out or apprentice them, or to give them in adoption to 
foster parents. Children received from the reform school shall be 
placed at work, bound out or apprenticed, and at any time before 
attaining majority may be returned to the school from which they 
came, if"in the judgment of the board of guardians such a course is 
demanded by the interest of the community or the welfare of the 
child. All children under the guardianship of the board shall be 
visited not less than once a year by an agent of the board, and as much 
oftener as the welfare of the child demands. Children received tem- 
porarily may not be kept longer than one week, except by order of 
the police court or the criminal court. 

Sec. 6. That the antecedents, character, and condition of life of 
each child received by the board shall be investigated as fully as pos- 
sible, and the facts learned entered in permanent records, in which 
shall also be noted the subsequent history of each child, so far as it 
can be ascertained. 

Sec. 7. That the Commissioners of the District shall have authority 
to prescribe the form of records to be kept by the board of guardians, 
and the methods to be employed by them in paying bills and auditing 
accounts; and an annual report of its operations hereunder shall be 
made by the board to the superintendent of charities. The superin- 
tendent of charities shall have full powers of investigation and report 
regarding all branches of the work of the board, as well as over all 
institutions in which children are placed by the board; and it shall be 
his duty to recommend annually the appropriations which in his judg- 
ment are necessary to the carrying on of its work: Provided, That the 
authority for placing feeble-minded children of the District of Colum- 
bia, heretofore given to the Secretarv of the Interior, is herebv trans- 
ferred to the Board of Children's Guardians. (27 Stats., 268/552.) 

DISPOSAL OF CITY REFUSE. 

The Commissioners contract for periods not exceeding five years, 
and after advertisement for and the receipt of proposals, for the col- 
lection and disposal of garbage, miscellaneous refuse, ashes, night soil, 
and dead animals, under regulations and specifications they are author- 
ized to establish. 

All garbage collected must be disposed of through a reduction or 
consumption process in such manner as to entail no damage or claim 
against the District of Columbia for such disposal, and subject to the 
sanitary inspection and approval of the Commissioners. All garbage 
contracts expressly provide that no garbage or other vegetable or 
animal matter shall be dumped into the Potomac River or any other 
waters, fed to animals, or exposed to the elements upon land. 

WATER SUPPLY. 

The municipal water supply of the District is obtained from the 
Potomac River, through an aqueduct, about 12 miles long and 9 feet in 
diameter, and a system of reservoirs. This part of the water-supply 
system is under the charge of the Chief of Engineers of the United 
States Army. 

Tlif distribution of the water to private consumers is effected by a 
system of mains and services laid and controlled under the supervision 
of the municipal government. 



^ 



26 GOVERNMENT OE THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

AUDITING. 

Disbursements are only made upon claims or accounts audited and 
approved by the auditor of the District of Columbia, except payments 
of interest and sinking fund of the bonded debt of the District, which 
are made by the Treasurer of the United States, ex officio commis- 
sioner of the sinking- fund. The auditor also audits the accounts of 
the collector of taxes. 

But, in order to further insure accuracy, the organic law requires 
that the accounts of said Commissioners and the tax collectors and 
all other officers required to account shall be also settled and adjusted 
by the accounting officers of the Treasury Department of the United 
States (20 Stats., 105). This auditing falls within the purview of the 
Auditor for the State and other Departments, subject to review by the 
Comptroller of the Treasury. 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

All disbursements are made by the disbursing officer except those 
for the sinking fund, which are made by the Treasurer of the United 
States, ex officio commissioner of the sinking fund. 

The disbursing officer is appointed by the Commissioners of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, and gives bond to the United States in the sum of 
$50,000, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his 
office in the disbursing and accounting, according to law, for all 
moneys of the United States and of the District of Columbia that come 
into his hands, which bond must be approved by the said Commis- 
sioners and the Secretary of the Treasury and be filed in the office of 
the Secretary of the Treasury. Advances in money, for which he 
must account, are made to him on the requisition of the Commissioners. 

JUDICIARY. 

The judiciary of the District of Columbia consists of a court of 
appeals, a supreme court, a police court, justices of the peace, and a 
number of United States commissioners. 

The court of appeals of the District of Columbia consists of a chief 
justice and two associate justices. The compensation of the chief jus- 
tice is $6,500 per annum and that of the associate justices $6,000 per 
annum each. 

The members of this court are appointed by the President and 
confirmed by the Senate, and hold office during good behavior. 

The jurisdiction of this court extends to the review of the final 
orders and judgments of the supreme court of the District, and from 
such of its interlocutory orders as the court of appeals may allow in 
the interest of justice; it also has jurisdiction in cases of suits and con- 
troversies in law and equity arising under the patent or copyright 
laws, and damages for the infringement of any patent by action on the 
case in accordance with sections 4919, 1920, 1921, chapter 1, Title LX, 
Revised Statutes of the United States; also any party aggrieved by 
the decision of the Commissioner of Patents in any interference case 
may appeal therefrom to the court of appeals. 

An appeal lies from the final judgment or decree of the court of 
appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States in all cases in 
which the matter in dispute exceeds $5,000, and also without regard 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 27 

to the sum in dispute wherein is involved the validity of any patent 
or copyright, or in which is drawn in question the validity of any 
statute of or an authority exercised under the United States. 

The supreme court of the District of Columbia consists of one chief 
justice, with five associate justices, whose compensation is $5,000 per 
annum each. The members of this court are appointed by the Presi- 
dent of the United States and confirmed by the Senate, and hold office 
during good behavior. This court is a court of general jurisdiction, 
and it also has the same powers and exercises the same jurisdiction as 
the circuit courts of the United States. It has cognizance of all crimes 
and offenses committed within the District, and of all cases in law and 
equity between parties, both or either of whom shall be resident or be 
found within the District, and also of all actions or suits of a civil nature 
at common law or in equity in which the United States shall be plain- 
tiff or complainant; and of all seizures on land or on water, and of all 
penalties and forfeitures arising or accruing under the laws of the 
United States. It is invested with jurisdiction to issue writs of man- 
damus to executive officers of the Federal and municipal government; 
it has also appellate jurisdiction over justices of the peace. It has juris- 
diction of all applications for divorce, and may entertain petitions for 
change of name; and it has concurrent jurisdiction with justices of the 
peace when the amount in controversy exceeds $100. Appeals lie from 
this court to the court of appeals. It is divided into a circuit court, an 
equity court, a district court, a criminal court, and a probate court. 

The police court consists of two judges, whose compensation is 
$3,000 per annum each. They are appointed by the President of the 
United States and confirmed by the Senate, for a term of six years. 
The jurisdiction of the court extends to the disposition of cases involv- 
ing minor offenses against the criminal laws and the holding of per- 
sons brought before it for the action of the grand jury. Appeals lie 
from this court to the court of appeals. 

Justices of the peace are appointed b} r the President of the United 
States and confirmed by the Senate, for a term of four } T ears. They 
have civil jurisdiction in cases involving an amount less than $300, and 
in landlord and tenant cases. They have no criminal jurisdiction. 
Appeals lie from them to the supreme court of the District. 

The United States commissioners are appointed by the supreme 
court of the District. They are essentially examining magistrates, who 
conduct investigations into alleged violation of United States laws, 
and decide whether parties appearing before them shall be brought 
before the grand jury. 

SUFFRAGE. 

Residents of the District never had the right to vote therein for 
national officers, or on other matters of national concern, after it 
became the seat of the General Government. But from 1802 to June 
20, 1871, the citizens of Washington, and from January 1, 1790, to 
said date the citizens of Georgetown, were entitled to vote on munici- 
pal subjects and for certain municipal officers; the citizens of the por- 
tion of the District outside of Washington and Georgetown were 
entitled to the same privilege from April 20. L871, to June 20, 1874. 
The privilege was rescinded June 20, 1>>7+, by the act of Congress of 
that date, which established the temporary commission form of gov- 
ernment. 



28 GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

STATUTE LIMITATIONS. 

The statute limitations are: Regarding judgments, twelve years; 
notes, three years; and open accounts, three years. 

LEGAL RATE OF INTEREST. 

The legal rate of interest in the District is 6 per cent per annum 
where no rate is specified, but contracts may be made for an}' rate not 
exceeding 10 per cent per annum. 

THE LAW IN FORCE IN THE DISTRICT 

has been derived from many sources. The law of Maryland, when 
that State gave to the United States the present territory comprising 
the District, was composed of the common law of England, the acts of 
the British Parliament found applicable to the condition of the people, 
and the enactments of the provincial and State legislatures of Mary- 
land. This law was continued in force in the District of Columbia by 
an act of Congress of February "27, 1801, and so remains, except as 
modified by subsequent laws of Congress, the numerous laws and ordi- 
nances of the municipal corporations which have existed in the District, 
and the orders made by the Commissioners in pursuance of the acts of 
Congress granting to them the power to make police and other municipal 
regulations. 

MILITIA. 

The militia of the District is organized under an act of Congress 
approved March 1, 1889. This law requires that every male citizen of 
the District of Columbia of the age of 18 and under the age of 45 
shall be enrolled, except municipal and judicial officers, officers and 
ex-officers of the United States Army and Navy, officers who have 
served for five years in the militia of the District or of any State of 
the United States, ministers of religion, practicing physicians, railroad 
conductors and engineers, policemen, firemen, idiots, lunatics, drunk- 
ards, paupers, and persons convicted of infamous crimes. 

RELIGION. 

The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which 
provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establish- 
ment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," precludes 
legislation on that subject in the District of Columbia, in view of the 
fact that Congress exercises exclusive legislative authority at the seat 
of Government. 



GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



29 



v^ 



IAst of (he principal municipal authorities of the cities of Washington a ad Georgetown, and 

of the District of Columbia. 



Name. 



Mayors of the city of Washington. 

Robert Brent 

Daniel Rapine 

James H. Blake 

Benjamin G. Orr 

Samuel N. Smallwood 

Thomas Carberry 

Roger C. Weigh tman 

Joseph Gales, jr 

John P. Van Ness 

William A. Bradley 

Peter Force 

William W. Seaton 

Walter Lenox 

John W. Maury 

John T. Towers 

William B. Magruder 

James G. Berret 

Richard Wallach 

Sayles J. Bowen 

Matthew G. Emery 

Mayors of the city of Georgetown. 

Robert Peter 

Lloyd Beall 

Daniel Rentzel 

Thomas Corcoran 



David Wiley 

John Peter 

Henry Foxall 

John Cox 

Henry Addison 

Richard R. Crawford 

Charles D. Welch 

Henry M. Sweeney 

Governors of the District. 

Henry D.Cooke 

Alexander Robey Shepherd. 



Delegate to Congress. 
Norton P. Chipman 



Period. 



to 



to 



to 



to 



June, 1802, 

June, 1812. 
June, 1812, 

June. 1813. 
June, 1813, 

June, 1817. 
June, 1817, 

June. 1819. 
June, 1819, to 

June, 1822, and 

June, 1824, to 

Sept. 30, 1824. 
June, 1822, to 

June, 1824. 
Oct. 4, 1824, to 

July 31, 1827. 
July 31, 1827, to 

June, 1830. 
June, 1S30, 

June, 1834. 
June, 1834, 

June, 1836. 
June, 1836, 

June, 1840. 
June, 1840, to 

June, 1850. 
June, 1850, to 

June, 1852. 
June, 1852, to 

June, 1854. 
June, 1854, to 

June, 1856. 
June, 1856, to 

June, 1858. 
June, 1858, to 

Aug. 24, 1861. 
Aug. 26, 1861, to 

June, 1868. 
June, 1868, to 

June, 1870. 
June, 1870, to 

June, 1871. 



to 



to 



to 



1789 to 1798. 
1798 to 1803. 
1803 to 1805, and 

1806 to 1808. 
1805 to 1806, and 

1808 to 1811, 

and 1812 to 

1813, and 1818 

to 1819. 
1811 to 1812. 
1813 to 1818, and 

1821 to 1822. 
1819 to 1821. 
1822 to 1845. v 
1845 to 1S57, and 

1859 to 1867. 
1857 to 1859. ■ 
1867 to 1869. 
1869 to 1871. 



Feb. 28, 1871, to 
Sept. 13, 1873. 

Sept. 13, 1873, to 
June 20, 1874. 



Apr. 21, 1871. to 
Mar. 4, 1875. 



Name. 



Secretaries. 

Norton P. Chipman 

Edwin L. Stanton 

Richard Harrington 

Board of public works. 

Henry D.Cooke, while governor 
Alexander Robey Shepherd 

S.P.Brown 

A.B.Mullett 

James A. Magruder. ._. 

Adolph Cluss 

Henry A. Willard 

John B. Blake 

Board of health. 

N. S. Lincoln 

T. S. Verdi 

H. A. Willard 

John M. Langston 

John Marbury, jr 

D. Willard Bliss 

Robert B. Warden , 

Christopher C. Cox 

COMMISSIONERS OF THE DIS- 
TRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Temporary government. 

William Dennison 

Henry T. Blow 

John H. Ketcham 

Seth Ledyard Phelps 

Thomas B. Bryan, succeeded 

Ketcham. 
Capt. Richard L. Hoxie, engi- 
neer to the Board of Com- 
missioners. 
William Tindall, secretary to 
the board. 

The law made no provision 
for a president to this board of 
temporary Commissioners. and 
none was ever elected; but 
Commissioner Dennison acted 
in that capacity at all board 
sessions when he was present. 

Permanent form of government. 

Josiah Dent 



Period. 



Mar. 2, 1871, to 
Apr. 21. 1871. 

May 19. 1871, to 
Sept. 22, 1873. 

Sept. 22. 1873, to 
June 20, 1874. 



Mar. 16, 1871, to 

Sept. 13, 1873. 
Mar. 16, 1871. to \* 

Sept. 13. 1873. 
Mar. 16, 1871, to 

June 2, 1873. 
Mar. 16, 1871. to 

June 20, 1874. 
Jan. 2, 1873, to 

June 20. 1874. 
May 22. 1873. to 

June 20, 1874. 
Sept. 13, 1873, to 

June 20, 1874. 



Mar. 15, 1871, to 
Mar. 22, 1871. 

Mar. 15, 1871, to 
Julv 1,1878. 

Mar. 15, 1871; de- 
c lin ed ap- 
pointment, y' 

Mar. 15, 1871, to 
Nov. 10, 1877. 

Mar. 15, 1871, to 
Julv 1, 1878. 

May '23, 1872, to 
July 1, 1878. 

Nov. 10, 1877, to 
July 1, 1878. 

Apr. "3, 1871, to 
July 1,1878. 



Julv 1, 1874, to 

Julv 1, 1878. 
July 1, 1874, to 

Dec. 31, 1874. 
Julv :-;. 1874, to 

June 30, 1877. 
Jan. 18, 1875, to 

June 30, 1878. 
Dec. 3, 1877, to 

July 1,1878. 
July 2, 1874, to 

July 1,1878. 



1/ 



July 1, 1878, to 
July 17,1882. 



30 



GOVERNMENT OB 1 THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



List of the principal municipal authorities of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, and 
of the District of Columbia — Continued. 



Name. 


Period. 


Name. 


Period. 


COMMISSIONERS OF THE DIS- 
TRICT of Columbia — cont'd. 

Permanent form, of govern- 
ment — Continued. 


July 1, 1878, to 

Nov. 29, 1879. 
June 29, 1878, to 

May 5, 1882. 
Nov. 29, 1879, to 

Mar. 8, 1883. 
Mav 11, 1882, to 

Apr. 1, 1886. 
July 14, 1882, to 

July 22, 1885. 
Mar. 3, 1883, to 

Apr. 1, 1886. 
July 20, 1885, to 

Mav 21, 1889. 
Mar. '8, 1886, to 

May 21, 1889. 
Apr. 1, 1886, to 

Jan. 26, 1888. 
Jan. 26, 1888, to 

Feb. 3, 1890. 
Mav 21, 1889, to 

Feb. 28, 1893. 
Mav 21, 1889, to 

Sept, 30, 1890. 
Feb. 14, 1890, to 

Oct. 14, 1891. 
Oct. 1, 1890, to— 
Oct. 15, 1891, to 

Mav 6, 1893. 
Feb. 20, 1893, to 

Mar. 9, 1894. 
Mav 8, 1893, to 

Mar. 1,1897. 
Mar. 10, 1894, to 

Mav 7, 1897. 
Mar. 2, 1897, to 

Mav 31, 1898. 
May 8, 1897, to 

May 8, 1900. 
May 9, 1900. 

June 1, 1898. 1 


COMMISSIONERS of the dis- 
trict of Columbia — cont'd. 

Assistants to Engineer Commis- 
sioners. 






July 21, 1878, to 


Maj. William Johnson Twining 




Aug. 1, 1884. 
Mav 2, 1879, to 


Thomas Phillips Morgan 

Maj. Garrett J. Lydecker 


Lieut. C. McD. Townsend 

Capt. F. A. Mahan 


Mar. 3, 1885. 
Aug 1, 1884, to 

Mar. 6, 1886. 
Mar. 25, 1885, to 




Capt. Eugene Griffin 


May 27, 1886. 
Mav 27, 1886, to 




James Barker Edmonds 


Capt. Thos. W. Symons 


Mar. 6, 1888. 
June 5, 1886, to 


William Benning Webb 


Capt. S. S. Leach 


Nov. 1, 1889. 
Mar. 6, 1888, to 


Samuel Edwin Wheatlev 




June 2, 1888. 
June 2, 1888, to 




Capt. Wm. T. Rossell 


Mar. 1, 1893. 




Nov. 1, 1889, un- 


Maj. Charles Walker Raymond. 
John Watkinson Douglass 


Capt. Gustav J. Fiebeger 

Capt. George McC. Derby 


til detailed as 
a Commis- 
sioner, Dis- 
trict of Co- 


Lieut. Col. Henry Martyn 
Robert. 


15, 1891. 
Oct. 31, 1891, to 

Mav 27, 1896. 
Mar. 1, 1893, to 


Capt. William Trent Rossell ... 


Oct. 8, 1894. 
Oct. 9, 1894, to 


Mvron Melville Parker 

Maj. Charles Francis Powell. . . 


Capt. Lansing H. Beach 

Capt. William E. Craighill 

Capt. David Du B. Gaillard 
Capt. H. C. Newcomer 


Apr. 28, 1898. 
Oct. 30, 1894, un- 
til detailed as 
a Commis- 


Capt. William Murray Black. .. 


trict of Co- 
lumbia, June 
1,1898. 
Feb. 28, 1899, to 


Henry Brown Floyd Macfar- 

land. 
Capt. Lansing Hoskins Beach.. 


Sept. 15, 1899. 
July 21, 1899, to 

Feb. — , 1901. 
Dec. 27, 1899. 



o 



